Complete Hose Replacement (diy).....is it worth it?

[fly]

Is it worth trying to do it yourself, the costs of the hoses etc seem v cheap and it doesnt look that hard in the how-tos....

A bloke quoted me 1500 quid to replace ALL the hoses in the engine bay, whereas the costs of diy is about 150 quid plus 10 - 14 hours of my life:)

(or a blown up rex)

[Oliver]

I think it\'s woth it. If you have basic mechanic skills, the right tools and either a shop manual or vac hose diagram. It can been done over a weekend.

I replaced my vac hoses a few years ago. It wasn\'t so hard, just take your time. The only area that took longer than I had exspected were the small scews which hold the vacuum rack. They strip pretty easy so I replaced them with allen heads.

Take notes and use some kind of labelling system to remember all those hoses...well over 65 hoses if I remember correctly?

Like you said, you can save some money but even better you will learn alot about your car. Aleast, I did. While I had the manifold off I decided to polish that as well.

Check around this forum or Rx7 club.net and do a search for write up\'s. You will find the job to be easier if you are a bit more familiar before you jump into it.

Good luck
Oliver

[Oliver]

Here\'s a photo of mine to give you an idea.

[fly]

Thx oliver, what kind of tubing did you use and where did you get it from?

[eatmyrx7dust]

samco make vacuum line replacement hosing.
I\'ve part done mine.
The hose is fairly cheap but the larger stainless steel jubilees cost a leg and an arm.


not the cheapest place but check out demontweeks.something.other

[eatmyrx7dust]

I was bored, so I went outside and took a picture.

[Oliver]

Originally posted by fly
Thx oliver, what kind of tubing did you use and where did you get it from?

I purchased my vac hoses in the States while visiting family. So, I can\'t help you in the UK.
Bought mine from http://www.bakerprecision.com/hosetech.htm
in California.

Ordered: Silicone vac hoses
4mm (40 ft)
6mm (15 ft)
8mm (5 ft)

Had plenty left over incase I wanted to cut the hose again and make it just a bit longer, so it would not pinch.
Get yourself a good hose cutter too. Needs to be a very clean cut.

[<Daneh>]

Originally posted by eatmyrx7dust
I was bored, so I went outside and took a picture.

Hi there, looking at the part where you have the 2 loooong blue pipes coming out of the plenum (spelling?) where does the pipe that goes right over towards the wheel arch go? and whats it for. I\'ve discovered on mine that i dont have a pipe there, it\'s just blanked off with a rubber cap.

[scooby_si]

think you can run a boost guage off that so maybe one of them or alternatively i kud be talking proper poo again http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008\' target=\'_blank\'>http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/10/10_2_12.gif\' border=0> lol
Si

[yonner]

scoob i take back ur funnyes smyle comment....... ^----that is the funnyst smily ive ever seen u use

[<Daneh>]

ah ha, i\'ve finally found the digram i been looking for and yes it looks like it is just for a boost gauge..

[fro]

I\'m probably going to do this next week...
What hose clamps did you guys use? A lot of the rx7club guys seem to use zip ties which I\'m not 100% sure about (but it does look neat)

[fly]

I used cable ties on all the hoses coming off the solenoid rack since buying 40+ 4mm jubilee clips is going to cost nearly 50 quid and getting a screwdriver into some of the areas that need to be secured just ends up with you ripping a hose.

Most of the original hoses in the turbo system were unsecured anyway, so new hoses+strong cable ties really is sufficient.

[fly]

Useful Tip:

Get a rubber cover for the fuel line at the back of the solenoid, as its virtually im possible to get to the screws at the back without removing the fuel line, i didnt realise and ended up pulling off the pipe and having a big spillage.

(Get a mole grip as well if you round the screw heads)

[Oliver]

Originally posted by fro
I\'m probably going to do this next week...
What hose clamps did you guys use? A lot of the rx7club guys seem to use zip ties which I\'m not 100% sure about (but it does look neat)

I used zip ties on all the vacuum lines. I took a little extra time to clip then cut the zip tie ends clean. This way, they don\'t have any sharp edges that could cut open other hoses over time. It\'s also nice, if you work on your engine alot they don\'t rip/cut your hands

After almost 2 years, I have never had a hose pop off.